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Abstract

The capacity of a natural mangrove system in Ibajay, Aklan province, central Philippines to process shrimp pond culture effluents was assessed through analysis of mangrove community structure and 24-hr monitoring of water quality parameters (NH3-N, NO3-N, PO4-P, sulfide, and total suspended solids). Results from the latter showed decreased nutrient levels within 6 hrs after daytime draining of effluents into the mangrove stand, but only nitrate reduction was statistically significant. Based on nitrate loss, volume of water drained, mangrove area, and shrimp farming data (e.g., N loss from ponds, feed composition, feeding rate), calculations show that 1.8–5.4 ha of mangroves are required to remove nitrate wastes from 1 ha of shrimp pond. N uptake by the mangrove macroflora was supported by data showing longer nipa palm leaflets and faster mangrove seedling growth in the experimental mangrove receiving effluents compared to a control mangrove, but not from mangrove biomass measurements. These results have significant implications for the Philippine brackishwater pond culture industry to conserve or rehabilitate mangroves as potential pond biofilters, to implement legally mandated 20- and 50-m greenbelts, and to reverse the national 0.5 ha mangrove: 1.0 ha pond ratio.

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0007-4977

Acknowledgment/Sponsorship

This study was funded by the Government of Japan Trust Fund for the Mangrove-Friendly Shrimp Culture Project. Grateful thanks are extended to Bugtong Bato, Ibajay Barangay Head N. Soliva for facilitating field arrangements, A. Traje for assistance in the pond and mangrove work, N. Kautsky and M. Beveridge for helpful comments on the manuscript, and J. Binas.

The quantity and composition of the bacterial microbiota in the rearing water, sediment, gills and intestines of tilapia Oreochromis niloticus collected every 2 weeks from Day 30 to Day 120 after stocking for grow-out culture in 6 earthen brackish water ponds in the Philippines were examined. The total heterotrophic aerobic bacterial counts obtained in the water, sediment, gills and intestines of tilapia ranged from 103 to 104 c.f.u. ml−1, 103–105, 105–107 and 104–107 c.f.u. g−1, respectively. In terms of composition, a total of 20 bacterial genera and 31 species were identified with the preponderance of gram-negative bacteria constituting 84% of all bacterial isolates examined. Aeromonas hydrophila, Bacillus spp., Plesiomonas shigelloides, Shewanella putrefaciens, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Staphylococcus spp. and Vibrio cholerae were the dominant bacteria identified in the gills and intestine of tilapia. These bacteria also dominated in the pond sediment and rearing water, except for the nil isolation of S. putrefaciens and V. cholerae in the water samples examined, indicating that resident bacteria in the pond water and sediment congruently typify the composition of bacterial microbiota in the gills and intestine of tilapia which under stressful conditions may propel the ascendance of disease epizootics.

Aquasilviculture technology verification project was conducted at the National Brackishwater Fisheries Technology Center (NBFTC) of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) in 1996-2000. Results indicated that given the proper technology, management and favourable market, and polyculture of high-value species (grouper (Epinephelus) and mud crab (Scylla)) will provide better return on investment. Dissemination of the technology through training started in 2001. In 2002, a 4-hectare undeveloped fishpond of NBFTC was converted into an aquasilviculture project to showcase the technical and economic feasibility of the technology with emphasis on the polyculture of mud crab, grouper and saline tilapia (Oreochromis) that would serve as a model livelihood project for coastal fisherfolk. In 2011, the BFAR launched the Philippine National Aquasilviculture Program to help restore mangroves that serve as breeding and nursery grounds of fish, and to provide livelihood projects through aquasilviculture to coastal fisherfolk. With increasing cost of development and management for aquasilviculture, integration of mangrove crab fattening and/or soft-shelled crab production have shown to improve profit under the present economic condition.